DHS official promises that federal immigration agents won't be at
polling places during the midterms
[February 26, 2026]
By NICHOLAS RICCARDI
DENVER (AP) — A Department of Homeland Security official on Wednesday
told state election administrators that immigration agents will not be
stationed at the polls during November's midterm elections, trying to
swat down one of Democrats' greatest fears about possible election
interference from the Trump administration.
Heather Honey, who serves as deputy assistant secretary for election
integrity, told the group of secretaries of state that “any suggestion
that ICE will be present at any polling location is simply not true,”
according to a statement from Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes,
a Democrat.
A spokeswoman for Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read also said Honey
made the pledge, and Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams, a
Republican, posted on the social media site X that the promise came from
“DHS.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for
comment.
Honey, an election conspiracy theorist who has backed false claims that
President Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election, was on the call
along with representatives of the FBI, U.S. Election Assistance
Commission, Postal Service and other federal agencies to talk about
coordination for the midterms.
Such a call normally would be routine, but this year several moves by
the Trump administration have unnerved Democratic secretaries of state.
His Department of Justice has been filing lawsuits to get detailed voter
data, without explaining why it wants the information. Trump also has
been renewing his false claims that widespread fraud marred the 2020
election and has urged his administration to investigate.
Relying on long-debunked election conspiracy theories, the FBI earlier
this month raided an election office in Fulton County, Georgia, a
Democratic stronghold that includes Atlanta, to seize ballots and other
voting records from 2020.
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The Department of Homeland Security logo during a news conference in
Washington, Feb. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
Democratic officials and public interest lawyers around the country
have been strategizing for months about how to react to possible
Trump meddling in the midterms voting and ballot counting.
Honey's presence on the call was a reminder of the new environment
for election officials. The U.S. Constitution provides that states,
not the federal government, run elections. Most states vest that
power in the elected office of the secretary of state.
Participants on the call said Democratic secretaries of state asked
Honey several questions about Trump administration cuts to election
security funding, its campaign to root out noncitizen voting —
something that is already illegal and rarely occurs — as well as
fears about federal law enforcement officers appearing at polling
places in the fall.
The White House has scoffed at those fears before, noting there was
no disruption during last year's election, when Democrats performed
well. During a congressional hearing earlier this month, the heads
of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and
Border Protection both answered “No, sir” when asked if they are
involved in any efforts to guard voting precincts.
Democrats note that Trump was willing to try to overturn his 2020
loss, pardoned those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021,
on his behalf and has stocked his administration with people who
helped him try to overturn the results in 2020.
___
Associated Press writer Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed
to this report.
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